Cleo Makeup Bag sewing Pattern Review – From Sunday Sewing Club

When I first started learning how to sew, I immediately started by sewing dresses and kinda skipped all the fun beginner projects such as pillowcases and tote bags. Being at the point where my wardrobe is bursting at the seams, I have started shifting my attention to sewing projects that aren’t just clothing. My love of organising the house has lead me to a need for small pouches which brings us to todays post where I try making my very first quilted boxy zip up pouch. As I’ve never made one of these before, I’m excited to try out the Cleo pouch pattern from the Sunday Sewing Club.

Quite a few months back when I actually realised I needed some cute pouches, the social media gods blessed me with a post from the Sunday Sewing Club where by if you sign up to their emails, you get a free PDF file of their Cleo quilted boxy zip pouch. This pattern has sat in my inbox for so long that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the original email and I honestly thought I dreamt the whole things. Originally I wanted to spend my annual mini-sewing-getaway making some of these pouches but I could not find the pattern in time. Alas, whilst looking for something else in my emails recently, I found the original Cleo pattern and quickly set about saving it and planning time to make these pouches.

When it came time to print my pattern, I did hit an odd snag where I couldn’t figure out how to perfectly scale my document so the size test square worked out. I originally scaled up to 104% which was too big, 103% was the same but 102% was too small. My computer did not allow me to not have a whole percentage so keep this in mind if you also run into problems. This could also just be an issue with my printer but I’ve never had this problem before. In the end, I went with 103% scale because it was close enough to the original size square. Taping up the pattern was pretty easy to do so with no issues and once I had the pattern together, I went ahead and cut out the Medium size pouch pattern pieces.

With my pattern ready to go, it was time to think about fabric. Towards the end of last year, a friend asked me to start a project for them and after getting the supplies, she changed her mind and left me the fabric. This meant that I had four pieces of half a meter long cotton which was perfect to learn how to sew some pouches. It’s worth noting that this fabric is absolutely adorable and some of the cutest I’ve worked with in a while. I’m also glad that the fabric were complimentary in their styles and that the artwork was so fun and colourful. If you’re interested, the fabrics we used were from here with heaps of adorable prints available. Seriously this fabric makes me want to quilt!

This project also required zips and some sort of quilting padding. Starting with the zips because it seemed like the easiest, I ended up getting these as I had no time to actually go to the shops. I purchased two kinds of zips; 50cm zips and a 2 meter continuous zip that you can cut to size which comes with zipper pieces. I wanted to try both of these styles of zip as I’ve never tried the continuous one before. The part of the project that caused me to scratch my head the most was trying to figure out what kind of quilting batting to get as its something I’ve never used before. Research was a little helpful, but in the end, I decided to go with this batting and I’m honestly not sure if I made the correct decision even after completing the project. I mean it worked but it could be completely incorrect as well.

With all the final pieces gathered, I set about making my first ever quilted pouch. I placed my pattern piece on my fabric and was happy to see it fit really well. To begin this project, a piece of your outer fabric must be sewn to the quilting batting so this was done by sewing straight lines over the top of my fabric with the batting underneath. This process was oddly satisfying and I loved being able to sew continuously. With my outer piece quilted, it returned to the cutting mat and I proceeded to cut out all the pieces I needed. For my lining, I decided to raid my cabbage stash and I found fabric from this years Easter dress which I had heaps of to make some pouches. I can certainly see how such projects are a great way of using up left over fabric scraps and I’m excited to have such a great use for scraps in the future.

One note that I hope to make is that according to the printed instructions provided by The Sunday Sewing Club is that it is indicated that the tabs be cut out on the lining fabric where infact you should cut it out of your main fabric. The sew-a-long video is however correct in saying to cut this piece out on the main fabric. I only want to state this as I cut it out in lining only to have to go back and recut it out on my main fabric later on.

Personally, I found the written instructions a little difficult to follow and ended up looking with the sew-a-long video. After watching the video through, I could see how such instructions would be difficult to explain through text only as this pattern got a little fiddly. The sewing itself was really straightforward with nothing too difficult. It was working with all the layers and keeping them correct that caused some issues but it was all figured out in the end. The video really was a lifesaver as I don’t think the written instructions made sense in my head, but as a visual learner, seeing what was being done was easier to understand. I will note that the video references certain pages of the instructions which are incorrect and don’t line up, leaving me to wonder if I’ve missed an update at some point.

As someone who doesn’t always sew the cleanest zip, projects such as this were really intimidating at the get-go. However, the way the pouch is made, really meant that the zip was installed with ease, precision and no issues at all. Even adding the tag was simple to do and came out well. The most difficult part of the project was sewing all the corner points as the pouch starts to look like a crumpled mess. It was certainly a trust-the-process kind of project. Making such a pouch which is fully lined meant that you are sewing it completely inside out and have no way of seeing how it’s going before you’re basically done. I really love how this pouch came together and was finished. The finish was neat, clean and very professional looking which made me feel really proud about my first ever pouch project. For a beginner pattern, the Cleo pouch certainly is really well structured, put together and finished leaving you with a high quality item when done.

The Sunday Sewing Club Cleo pouch was such a delight to make that I instantly made a second one that day and then two more in the smaller size the following day. I found this project easy to follow with the video but also quite straightforward once I understood how it was put together. This project kind of made me feel silly that I had put off making something like this for so long but I honestly just wanted something that looked professional and fully lined/cleanly finished. The Cleo pattern ticked all the boxes and despite getting it as a freebie, it makes me want to buy a new project from Sunday Sewing Club and try a different item to make. If you are looking for a pouch pattern thats professionally lined and finished, this is it.

Having now made four of these pouches, each one is now in use and greatly appreciated around the house. As someone who is always trying to organise their home to make sense, these pouches allow me to find better ways of keeping this safe, organised and together. I already have plans to make a few more pouches and have already started looking into ways to adjust the pouch sizes to fit various needs. As the pouches are so cute, they genuinely bring me so much joy and I can’t wait to add more in the future. This is the kind of project I would make for a present if I was stuck for ideas and I can see this being a really great gift in the future.